MOOve on, Food Editors. Here's the BEEF!

Aunt Helen's Better-for-You Li'l Cheddar Meat Loaves

1 egg 1 lb ground beef
3/4 C milk 1 tsp. salt
1 C shredded cheese 2/3 C ketchup
1/2 C quick cooking oats 1/2C brown sugar, packed
1/2 C Chopped onion 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard

In a bowl beat egg and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion and salt. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 8 loaves; place in a greased 9 X 13 baking dish. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard; spoon over loaves. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Yield: 8 servings (or you can practice moderation and share....)

MOO-re on the subject

A 2005 analysis indicates beef eaters are 13% more likely to meet nutrient requirements for iron than non-beef eaters. Did you know that 32% of our population are not meeting the RDA for iron and vitamin B6. 38% are not meeting the RDA for zinc and nearly 20% are not meeting the RDA for vitamin B12, protein, niacin and riboflavin? (Based on the RDA Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals).

Find your steak knives! A 3 ounce serving of lean beef (179 calories) contributes less than 10% of calories to a 2,000-calorie diet, yet it supplies more than 10% of the Daily Value for zinc,, iron, vitamins B12, B6, protein, niacin and riboflavin.

Thank you, USDA and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association for facts on this subject. The truth is that the "white meat producers" have been very good at pushing their product and Americans are looking for something to blame for their own greedy eating habits.

What's YOUR beef?

"There aren't any beef recipes in this magazine" was the observation made by my sweet daughter-in-law as she flipped through the pages of one of the several magazines I purchase monthly. Becca's comment motivated me to search the other magazines on my coffee table and to my dismay there were very few beef recipes. Paula Deen, the Butter Queen, only had one beef recipe and that was IN a salad. One magazine featured a recipe for meatloaf with a (gasp) TURKEY version beside it-- inferring the newer version is "Better-for-You".

I don't want to pluck out the white meat producers. I believe there is room on the table for all the food God has given us--at different meals, of course. But evidently food editors and dietitians have decided to butcher the beef industry and blame the cow for America's obesity epidemic.

Yes, I am biased. We are beef producers. I am also concerned. According to the Community Nutrition Research Group, Americans are increasingly overfed yet undernourished. 60% of girls ages 12-19 are iron deficient and 47% are zinc deficient. Where's the beef???